1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention broadly relates to a small-sized marine craft for use in marine sports or for leisure purposes, which is suited to running about the sea area near the shore under the control of a rider on a deck portion who grips a steering handle bar standing up from the bow portion. More particularly, the invention is concerned with battery service system for a marine craft of the type mentioned above.
2. Description of the Related Art:
In general, a small-sized marine craft of the kind described has an engine mounted in an engine room formed in the bow portion of the shell and a propulsion means provided at the stern portion of the same. The rider stands up or sits on a deck portion formed on the shell to the rear of the engine room and grips the steering handle bar on the bow portion of the shell.
The shell has a breadth which is substantially equal to or slightly greater than the shoulder breadth of a rider.
The propulsion means may be a propeller or a pumped water jet. Where a pumped water jet is used, the marine craft can be steered by changing the direction of the jet.
The power supply such as for engine starter is made by an inboard battery which is adapted to be charged up by a dynamo connected to the engine.
In the known small-sized marine craft of the type explained above, the battery is mounted in the engine room and the wiring to the engine is made directly through the space in the engine room. With this arrangement, therefore, it is necessary to open the engine hood in order to make the battery accessible for the purpose of, for example, external battery service, i.e., for the connection to external power supply through a shore connection.
This work is rather laborious and suffers from various problems.
Namely, when the battery has become flat, it is necessary to connect the battery to a charger or a suitable electric power supply on the shore through a shore connection. This requires troublesome work for opening the engine hood. In addition, since such work is usually carried out at the beach, there is a risk that water accidentally comes into the engine room.
In the practical use of small-sized marine craft of the kind described, it is quite a usual thing to start and stop the engine frequently, which often causes the battery to become flat. In such a case, it is necessary to charge up the battery or to start the engine by means of the battery of another marine craft, even when the marine craft is floating offshore. The risk of flooding of the engine room exists also in this case because the charging of the battery or starting of the engine by the power of battery of another marine craft requires the engine hood to be opened.